Va. college punishes 4 in racial protest over Obama win

Dec. 13, 2012
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Hampden-Sydney College expelled one student and disciplined three others for participating in a racially charged protest outside the minority students' union soon after President Obama was declared the victor over Republican Mitt Romney on Nov. 6. / Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Four Virginia college students have been punished for being part of a racially charged mob that derided President Obama's re-election outside the minority students' union, the Associated Press reports.

All-male Hampden-Sydney College expelled one student and disciplined the other three after a student court convicted them of violating the code of conduct for the Nov. 6 confrontation minutes after Obama was declared the victor over Republican Mitt Romney.

AP writes that some in the crowd of about 40 students "shouted racial slurs, tossed bottles, set off fireworks and threatened physical violence." Some students inside the building came out to peacefully confront the mob and were joined by others. No one was injured.

The expelled student was found guilty of disruptive and lewd behavior and harassment. The others were placed on probation and will do between 25 hours and 100 hours of community service.

In an e-mail to parents after the incident, the college's first African-American president, Chris Howard, denounced the confrontation as a "harmful, senseless episode." "There is no place for bigotry or racism on this campus," he wrote.

In a statement released to AP, college spokesman ThomasShomo said Thursday that the students would not be publicly identified, and that administrators do not comment on student court verdicts.

Neither the college nor the student newspaper, The Tiger, reported the original incident or the punishments.

The private, liberal arts school, about an hour southwest of Richmond, has about 1,100 students. It's the oldest privately chartered college in the South, and the nation's oldest remaining college for men. Founding fathers Patrick Henry and James Madison were among its first trustees.

U.S. News includes it on its 2013 list of best liberal arts colleges. In its 2010 ranking of private, southern colleges, Forbes magazine ranked Hampden‚??Sydney No. 4.